1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display panel. More specifically, the present invention relates to a driving method for a plasma display panel (PDP) that increases the panel's efficiency.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The PDP is a flat display that uses plasma generated via a gas discharge process to display characters or images, and tens of thousands to millions of pixels are provided thereon in a matrix format, depending on its size. PDPs are categorized into direct current (DC) PDPs and alternating current (AC) PDPs, according to supplied driving voltage waveforms and discharge cell structures.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a conventional AC PDP.
As shown, a parallel pair of a scan electrode 4 and a sustain electrode 5, covered by a dielectric layer 2 and a protection film 3, are provided under a first glass substrate 1. A plurality of address electrodes 8, covered with an insulation layer 7, is formed on a second glass substrate 6. Barrier ribs 9 are formed in parallel with, and in between, the address electrodes 8, and phosphor 10 is formed on the insulation layer 7 and the sides of the barrier ribs 9. The first and second glass substrates 1 and 6 having a discharge space 11 between them are sealed together so that the scan electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 are orthogonal to the address electrode 8. A portion of the discharge space 11 where an address electrode 8 crosses the pair of the scan electrode 4 and the sustain electrode 5 forms a discharge cell 12.
FIG. 2 shows a typical PDP electrode arrangement.
As shown, the PDP electrodes are arranged in an m×n matrix configuration. Address electrodes A1 to Am are arranged in the column direction, and scan electrodes Y1 to Yn and sustain electrodes X1 to Xn are alternately arranged in the row direction. The discharge cell 12 corresponds to the discharge cell 12 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows a conventional PDP driving waveform.
As shown, each subfield has a reset period, an address period, and a sustain period according to a conventional PDP driving method.
In the reset period, wall charges formed by a previous sustain discharge are is erased, and states of the cells are reset so as to fluently perform a next address operation. In the address period, panel cells which are to be turned on are selected, and wall charges accumulate on the turned-on cells (addressed cells.) In the sustain period, a discharge for displaying images on the addressed cells is performed by alternately applying sustain pulses to the X and Y electrodes. Conventionally, one strong sustain discharge may be generated for each sustain pulse by applying the sustain pulse to the X or Y electrode while maintaining the other electrode at a ground voltage level. The strong sustain discharge may generate excessive priming particles, which may not be used in a subsequent operation, thereby degrading the PDP's efficiency.